A Different Battle: County firefighter honored for his strength in cancer fight

Anderson County FIre Department honors Firefighter of the Year Mike Hunt of Centerville fire department Monday January 26, 2009 at the CIvic Center of Anderson.

When Mike Hunt stood before a doctor at Duke University several months ago, just after he learned he had a brain tumor, one of the first questions he had was: "Can I still fight fire?"

"That was the first thing he said," said Tommy Dunn, one of Hunt's closest friends and fellow firefighter. "I was there with him that day and to me, how he responded, spoke volumes."

Even though the doctor said no, he still does what he can at the Centerville Fire Station where he has volunteered for the last 19 years. From cleaning up the station, to working on paper work to rolling hoses at fire scenes, Hunt has been there through his battle with cancer, Dunn said.

So now, his peers are giving back.

At the Anderson County Firefighters Banquet on Monday, Hunt was awarded the county fire department's highest honor, Firefighter of the Year.

Hunt has volunteered as a captain and an assistant chief at Centerville fire station while working as a developer together with Dunn in D and H Development. Those who are close to Hunt, a 47-year-old native of Anderson, know he joined the station after taking one of his co-workers to a fire on Salem Church Road — 19 years ago.

"I think he caught the bug," Dunn said.

Then last Spring, while fighting a fire, fellow firefighters noticed Hunt was acting strangely while helping knock down the blaze inside a house on Jackson Street. Dunn said they thought that maybe the heat was getting to him.

He was taken to the hospital for what everyone thought was a stroke at first.

Three weeks later, doctors told Hunt — a husband and father to two daughters, plus a granddaughter — that he had a cancerous brain tumor. He would need surgery and then a year's worth of treatments.

Reports now say he is cancer free, but Dunn said he is still going through treatments. He's had chemotherapy and radiation

"Through this whole thing, he has continued to be upbeat, and even worked through his treatments," Anderson County Fire Chief Billy Gibson said. "He has just remained so upbeat though all of this. This disease has not changed his outlook at all."